I never do... because I always carry my gear with me unless it's a tropical storm or it's quick trip + too dark + I don't want to take pics. And anytime I come across a crazy car or interesting person for a candid or whatever I convince myself that I wouldn't have made the shot/a worthy shot anyways

Plenty of times I bring my gear with me and maybe take a shot or two that turn out to be nothing makes me feel silly, and others have commented "you really carry around your camera EVERYWHERE don't you!" but the time I did have it all with me and I got "the shot" makes it all worth while.

Everytime when i drive to the next Big city, about 15min away, and my gear is not with me I see a hawk or a buzzard, something like that only, only saw him twice when my gear is with me, and this two times i couldn´t get him once he flew away I drove with him, and he flew again away, twice he was sitting in a tree and I have to park my car get my cam out get my 70-200 mounted, and i take a view, if he´s still there, okay he was, i went in the direction of the tree have to setup my camera, and as I take a second look he was away, grrr stupid bird, this bird is my Erlking

One night, while walking home from the local bar, I saw bigfoot and Elvis, but with no camera to take a picture, nobody believes me....

Seriously though..... the site where I work is secure.... fences all around.... 3 kilometers by 8 kilometers in size, and contains a firing range.... It is the perfect spot for wildlife.... the firing range is crawling with wildlife. (It is a career ending move to shoot anything other than targets). Problem is, no cameras allowed. I have seen deer by the thousands, bear, moose, wolves, coyotes, fox, a cougar, there are several Osprey nests, an eagle nest, scads of Red Tailed hawks..... I keep having to chase wild turkeys away....AND I CAN'T TAKE PICTURES WITH MY CAMERA!!!!!

What a country! Shoot bullets ... great. Shoot pictures ... no way! Guess you'll need to rig up a camera to look something like this to get in.

Today I was just heading to the shops for something and spotted this out of the corner of my eye. Needless to say when you need it you just don't have your camera, luckily I had the cell phone to catch a quick pic before he headed off. Los Angeles is always full of surprises. Does anyone else have similar experiences?

I live out in the country and see wildlife occasionally and wish I had my DSLR with me. Its usually far enough away that I even my 400mm lens is not enough. No hope of a iphone or my G1X catching it. Maybe a SX50, but light is going to be a issue for a camera like that.

I live in a desert country where wild life and pretty much everything is always far away (also add constant dust storms to the list of problems) and my iPhone (as nice as it is) just does not have the reach, so I always carry my D7000 + 18-300 VR lens in my bag everyday ... here are a couple of shots, made last Wednesday, while driving back home from office

One night, while walking home from the local bar, I saw bigfoot and Elvis, but with no camera to take a picture, nobody believes me....

Seriously though..... the site where I work is secure.... fences all around.... 3 kilometers by 8 kilometers in size, and contains a firing range.... It is the perfect spot for wildlife.... the firing range is crawling with wildlife. (It is a career ending move to shoot anything other than targets). Problem is, no cameras allowed. I have seen deer by the thousands, bear, moose, wolves, coyotes, fox, a cougar, there are several Osprey nests, an eagle nest, scads of Red Tailed hawks..... I keep having to chase wild turkeys away....AND I CAN'T TAKE PICTURES WITH MY CAMERA!!!!!

What a country! Shoot bullets ... great. Shoot pictures ... no way! Guess you'll need to rig up a camera to look something like this to get in.

Jcollette, it might seem amusing but I have actually rigged up an old rifle stock to hold my DSLR. I did it simply because I had the parts to do it. It isn't that convenient for changing settings (I am looking into wiring up an extra set of controls on the stock for that) but I couldn't believe how much easier it is to track moving animals with it. It is also great if you are laying in the scrub waiting for a shot as it is a lot quicker and easier to keep it steady when shooting handheld. Te downside is the strange looks that you get when unloading the car at the national park carpark. I have been stopped and questioned by the rangers a few times already, but once they get a proper look at the rig they are fine with it.